UN Hariri investigator expected to become next ICTY chief prosecutor News
UN Hariri investigator expected to become next ICTY chief prosecutor

[JURIST] Serge Brammertz [official profile], the former Belgian federal prosecutor who currently heads the UN investigation [JURIST news archive] into the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, is expected to replace Carla Del Ponte [official profile] as the next chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website], UN officials said Wednesday. The officials said that Brammertz has agreed to take the ICTY position when the mandate of the UN International Independent Investigation Commission [UN materials] expires in December.

Del Ponte, a former Swiss attorney general whose second four-year term as ICTY chief prosecutor expires in September, said Thursday through her spokesperson that she is willing to stay on until December [AP report]. Formal approval from the Swiss government and the UN Security Council would be required if Del Ponte were to extend her term. Brammertz recently resigned [JURIST report] his position as deputy prosecutor for investigations at the International Criminal Court [official website]. He must be formally nominated by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to serve as ICTY prosecutor and the nomination must be approved by the Security Council before Brammertz could take up the ICTY's on-going prosecution of approximately 60 defendants. Four of the 161 suspects indicted by the ICTY remain fugitives, including Ratko Mladic [ICTY case backgrounder; JURIST news archive], and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic [ICTY case backgrounder; BBC profile]. The New York Times has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.